VINdependent News & Updates

VINdependents who have not yet fulfilled their six-bottle annual commitment are invited to choose between three pre-configured shipments by Wednesday, December 23rd: one mixed (the default), one red wine, and one white wine. Members are also, of course, welcome to choose their own six wines using our online order form. If no selection is made, classic shipment will be shipped the week of 1/11/27. The preconfigured options are:

Classic (Default)

• 1 bottle of Esprit de Tablas 2024 (Our newly-released flagship red blend, based on Mourvèdre, from the best lots of the vibrant 2024 vintage; 97 James Suckling, 97 Owen Bargreen, 95-97 Vinous)
• 1 bottle of Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2024 (Our flagship white blend, based on Roussanne, from the best lots of 2024; 97 James Suckling, 96 Owen Bargreen, 95 Vinous)
• 1 bottle of Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty Blanc 2025 (The Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty is the fourth white wine released in the Lignée de Tablas collection. All the grapes were grown at the Fenaughty Vineyard, at 2700+ feet in the El Dorado AVA of the Sierra Foothills.)
• 1 bottle of Côtes de Tablas 2024 (Our estate blend based on Grenache; 95 James Suckling, 95 Decanter, 94 & Cellar Selection Wine Enthusiast)
• 1 bottle of Grenache 2024 (Our small-production varietal bottling of the Rhône's most planted red grape, vibrant and juicy; 95 James Suckling, 95 Owen Bargreen, 93 Vinous)
• 1 bottle of Patelin de Tablas Rosé 2025 (Our "neighborhood" Provence-style dry rosé, based on Grenache; 94 James Suckling, 92 Vinous, 92 Wine Enthusiast)
• VINdependent Cost: $274.50

Red Wine Selection

White Wine Selection

• 1 bottle of Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2024 (Our flagship white blend, based on Roussanne, from the best lots of 2024; 97 James Suckling, 96 Owen Bargreen, 95 Vinous)
• 1 bottle of Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty Blanc 2025 (The Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty is the fourth white wine released in the Lignée de Tablas collection. All the grapes were grown at the Fenaughty Vineyard, at 2700+ feet in the El Dorado AVA of the Sierra Foothills.)
• 1 bottle of Cotes de Tablas Blanc 2025 (Our estate blend based on Viognier, from an outstanding Viognier vintage; 94 Wine Spectator, 96 BevX, 95 James Suckling)
• 1 bottle of Viognier 2025 (Our varietal bottling of the Rhône's most famous white grape, both luscious and vibrant; 93 James Suckling)
• 1 bottle of Marsanne 2025 (Our varietal bottling of Hermitage's noble white grape, lovely texture with a long, clean finish; 93 James Suckling)
• 1 bottle of Grenache Blanc 2025 (Our varietal bottling of the white Rhône we introduced to America; 94 Wine Enthusiast, 95 Tasting Panel, 97 BevX)
• VINdependent Cost: $256.50

To receive the default mixed shipment, members need do nothing, though if you'd like it sooner than the week of January 11th please let us know. Those who prefer a different pre-configured shipment or a different ship date, or who have questions about shipments or membership, can log into their portal and make the changes. If you have any questions or if we can help, contact the wine club team at 805.237.1231 x236 or wineclub@tablascreek.com.

We are pleased to invite you to participate in our barrel tasting and sale en primeur of Tablas Creek Vineyard's remarkable wines from the outstanding 2025 vintage: Esprit de Tablas, Panoplie, and just the second vintage of our new Panoplie Blanc.

Offering wine en primeur is a time-honored French tradition most often associated with first-growth Bordeaux estates. In outstanding vintages, valued customers are offered the opportunity to secure a limited quantity of sought-after wines at a special price in advance of bottling. The wines will be available for delivery or pickup in fall 2027.

To RSVP to the En Primeur Tasting on December 5th: Proprietor Jason Haas and Director of Winemaking Chelsea Franchi will host a live En Primeur tasting on December 5th. Join us for a discussion of the 2025 vintage and wines. RSVP by mail, phone, or online using this link.

To Order: Contact wineclub@tablascreek.com or call 805.237.1231 x236

To Taste: You may taste the wine on your own schedule by visiting our tasting room between November 2nd and December 7th, and we will pour you the new Esprit, Panoplie, and Panoplie Blanc. Book your tasting.

The 2025 Vintage:

The 2025 vintage began dry but finished wet, with two-thirds of the winter's precipitation coming in February and March. That late rain delayed budbreak and allowed us to dodge any spring frosts. The summer was warm but rarely hot, with the fewest 100° days in our history. Harvest began at a normal time frame but cool temperatures in September and October slowed down harvest. We navigated two early rain events without damage and finished an extended but unhurried harvest in early November. The exceptionally long hangtime and gradual ripening combined to produce fruit with deep colors, remarkable intensity, and noteworthy vibrancy. We believe 2025 has all the hallmarks of a blockbuster year.

The Wines:

• 2025 Esprit de Tablas: Esprit de Tablas is Tablas Creek's signature red blend, always led by the dark red fruit, earth, spice and mid-palate richness of Mourvèdre (44%), along with additions of Grenache (24%), Syrah (21%), Counoise (5%), Vaccarèse (4%), and Cinsaut (2%). In this cool, slow-ripening vintage, all the varieties thrived, but Mourvèdre was the clear superstar. At our blending trials, we chose our highest percentage of Mourvèdre for Esprit since 2015, and the resulting wine is deeply fruited but with plenty of warm spice and earth elements like black tea and new leather to balance that fruit. It strikes us as an Esprit that will
  be appealing upon release but also rewarding to cellar. Enjoy over the next two decades or more.
• 2025 Panoplie: Panoplie is our elite Mourvèdre-based cuvée, made in the model of Château de Beaucastel's Hommage à Jacques Perrin and selected from the top 3% of lots that come into the cellar each vintage. Mourvèdre has a remarkable ability to age, adding meaty depth to dark medium fruit, without the hardness many ageworthy red grapes have in their youth. In the 2025 vintage, which Jason called “a magical year for Mourvèdre”, we chose four exceptional lots of Mourvèdre to represent 66% of the wine. We then added two powerful lots of Syrah (18%) and two gorgeous lots of Grenache (16%). The resulting Panoplie allows the purity of the Mourvèdre fruit to shine. It should be great whether you choose to lay it down or enjoy it in its youth. Drink over the next 25-30 years.
• 2025 Panoplie Blanc: Like Panoplie, Panoplie Blanc is made from the top 3% of the year’s lots, but on the white side, and just as Panoplie leans even heavier into Mourvèdre than Esprit, so does Panoplie Blanc embrace the richness, textural weight, and longevity of Roussanne. During our blending trials, in which Jason commented that all the grapes tasted like themselves, but more so, we identified three lots of Roussanne (making up 74% of the blend), two of Grenache Blanc (20%) and one of Picpoul Blanc (6%) with the requisite character and intensity. The resulting wine is powerful but lovely, very Roussanne in character, with flavors
  of crème brûlée and baked pear, a nice moderate dose of sweet oak, and appealing pithiness at the end. Enjoy it now for its luscious flavors of honey and pear, or age it up to two decades for a more savory profile of caramel and roasted nuts